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G. A. SMITH.

AUTOMATIC WATER SPRINKLER OR PIPE. No. 285,697. "Patented Sept. 25, 1888.

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UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A. SMITH, BRISTOL. RHODE ISLAND.

AUTOMATIC WATER SPRINKLER OR PIPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 285,697, dated September 25, 1883.

Application filed March 2,1883. (NomodeL) To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE A. SMITH,.of Bristol, in the county of Bristol and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Water Sprinklers or Pipes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to water sprinklers or pipes to be arranged in the several compartments of manufactories, particularly of cotton, woolen, and paper manufactories, and other buildingssuch as theaters, and more particularly the stage portions thereofin which fire and highly-inflammable materials are present.

This invention is more particularly applicable to such sprinklers or pipes as are arranged to be automatically opened to the escape and sprinkling of water by and from the fusion of a metal or material fusible at a low degree of heat--say 160-which is applied to maintain the sprinklers or .pipes against the escape of water until such fusion of the fusible metal or material occurs.

The invention consistsinanovel application of said fusible metal or material, and in a construction and arrangementof parts for closing the sprinkler or pipe to the escape of water and so maintaining it until the fusion or melting of the fusible metal or material occurs, all substantially as hereinafter described.

In the accompanying plate of drawings, automatic and rotary sprinklers having my present improvements applied to them are illustrated.

Figure 1 is a side elevationwith the sprinkler closed against action Fig. 2, a horizontal section on line 2 2, Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a vertical section on line 4 4, Fig. 2; and Fig. 4, avertical section 011 line 3 3, Fig. 2, with the sprinkler open to action. Fig. 5 is adetail planview, showing the fusible metal and its attachment.

In the drawings, A represents a pipe connected in any suitable manner to the watersupply, and tapped, as at B, for the attachment of an automatic and rotary sprinkler, to be now described. f

The sprinkler consists of a horizontal wheel or plate, G, having ,a central chamber or recess, D, from which lead a series of horizontal and more or less radial and spiral passages, E, to the peripheryF of thewhcel; Said passages are open at said periphery F, and at said central chamber, D, and said passages along their length open to the upper face, but are closed at the under side or part, a, of the wheel, all as usual. The wheel is carried in a stirrup-shaped frame, G, which is composed of an upper circular plate or disk, H, and of a lower horizontal bar, K, parallel to the plate H, and of two parallel upright bars, I) 1), diametrically opposite each other. The stirrupframe has attached to its plate H a vertical pipe, L, which is screwed and entered into the supply-pipe A at cl, thereby fastening said stirrup-frame to said pipe A. Said vertif L is abutted the bottom face, 0, of said recess,

so as to close said open end g to the passage of water, the wheel or plate thus acting as a valve to the pipe L. Forproducing and maintaining this abutment of thewhcel or valve 0 against the open end 9 of the pipe L, said wheel has a vertical screw-threaded spindle,

M, attached to and projected from its under threaded nut, N, having avertical tubular and cylindrical under extension, Z, that enters a socket, m, in the lower bar, K, of the stirrup frame G, and rests at its lower end it against a cross-piece, q, located and secured across the groove is of the bar, leaving said groove open at each end for the free passage of air onto it. The securing of the cross-piece q in place is made with a metal or material shown at i", which is fusible at a low degree of heat-say l60-but otherwise is capable of holding the cross-piece against escape. The fusible metal or other material, r, is applied to the outside of i pipe L, and thus the pipe will be closed to the passage of water. \Vhen the cross-piece q is released by the melting of the fusible metal or other material, r, from heat, the wheel or valve 0 is then left free to drop from thelower open end of the vertical pipe, opening it to the escape of water, which water, entering the central recess, D, passes therefrom through the more or less radial and spiral passages E, and escapes at the periphery of the wheel in a corresponding number of separate streams. This movement of the water, as is obvious, causes the wheel to rotate, turning by its tubular eX- tension Z of the screw-nut in the socket m of the stirrup-bar K, and as a consequence the water is the better distributed and spread around the room or place in which the sprinkler is located.

To insure a tight joint between the wheel or valve 0 and the open end 9 of pipe L, a packing-washer, s, of india-rubber, leather, metal, or other similar material, may be employed. The construction of the wheel with screw-stem M, receiving the screw-nut turning within the stirrup-bar, enables the joint between the wheel or valve 0 and open end 9 of pipe L to be made tight at any and all times by properly turning either the screw-nut N or the wheel or valve 0.

In lieu of a wheel or valve with water-passages E, a wheel or valve-plate, either with or without acentral'recess or cavity, or without passages, may be used to abut against the open end of the pipe, so that when it is dropped from the pipe the pipe is simply opened to the escape of water, and on its escape no distribution or spread of the water produced, as has been described, but a simple flow of the water over the upper surface of the valve or wheel secured.

The automatic sprinklers such as above de scribed are to be located on the water-pipe,

as near together as desired. It is plain there is, in fact, no destruction of any part of the apparatus on the melting of the fusible metal or other material, as has been described.

By having the groove 70 and the seat opened, as described, greater facility is given for the circulation of air about the supporting crosspiece (1 for the valve or plate (J.

The frame G need only be on one side but it is preferable to have it as shown.

The cross-piece (1 may be made of the fusible material.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1 The combination of a water-pipe having a valve-seat, the valve-plate 0, provided with radial passages, the supporting-frame G, the cross-piece q, adapted to be held to the frame by fusible metal, and means for supporting the valve'on the cross-piece, and thereby holding said-valve against the valve-seat 011 the water-pipe, substantially as described.

2. I11 combination with awater-pipe, avalveplate, 0, having screw-stem M and screw-nut N, with its tubular extension L, and a crosspieee, q, secured to the supporting-frame G by a fusible material, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In combination with awaterpipe, avalveplate, 0, having radial passages, screw-stem M, and nut N, with its tubular extension L, and a cross-piece, q, secured to the supporting-frame G by a fusible material, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEO. A. SMITH. \Vitnesses:

EDWIN W. BROWN, TM. S. -BELLOW'S. 

